Cadaver disposal systems and techniques

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and a method for decomposing a body of a deceased person, as an alternative to traditional cremation. The apparatus includes a primary vessel where the body is treated with a highly basic solvent to render the body into skeletal remains and liquid remains. A clamp is applied to the skull during processing for solvent access to the skull. A secondary vessel is used to receive the liquid remains from the primary vessel and further treat them. During this further treatment, the skeletal remains left in the primary vessel after the liquefied portion has been transferred to the secondary vessel, can be treated to be decolorized and deodorized, and then returned to the decedent&#39;s next of kin as ash-like material.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a Continuation of and claims priority topending U.S. application Ser. No. 13/069,646, filed Mar. 23, 2011, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,999,254, the contents of which are hereby incorporatedby reference.

BACKGROUND

Currently, widely used methods for taking care of human bodies after aperson has died are burial in a cemetery, placement in a mausoleum orcremation. A person's body should be handled respectfully in any case.These methods have been used throughout history. Burial has grown to bevery costly with the cost of the casket and plot of land for the burial.In some places there is a shortage of land for use as cemetery plotsthat increases the burden to those who wish burial. A decrease in thenumber of burials may result in an increase in the demand for cremation.However, there are issues with cremation. Although originally thought tooffer an efficient and relatively clean process, the consequences ofcremation have become increasingly apparent. For example, it is reportedthat 40% of the mercury emissions in the United Kingdom are due tocremation of human remains because of the mercury present in dentalfillings. Also, cremation adds to the amount of greenhouse gases, fromnot only the body itself, but from a large amount of fuel needed toincinerate the body during cremation. The amount of fuel needed alsomakes the cremation process energy intensive, which is a concern becauseof the rising energy costs. Therefore, there is a need for analternative method to either burial or cremation for taking care of adeceased person's body.

Some systems exist for the highly basic hydrolysis method of reducingorganic materials to constituent parts. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,183,453,6,472,580 and 6,437,211 describe methods for treatment of organicmaterials, such as medical waste, with highly alkaline solutions toconvert the organic materials into sterile solutions and solids.Commercial systems utilizing these methods are available to handlemedical and animal waste products and ensure complete digestion andsterilization of the waste before disposal. These commercial systems,however, would not provide the respect to a deceased person's body andwould lack the dignity with which human funeral situations necessarilyneed to be handled. Also, these systems may not work fast enough to beable to be employed effectively within the funeral parlor/crematoriumsetting.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides systems and techniques for thedisposition of biological tissue, including the body of a deceasedperson, by chemical hydrolysis. While the actual nature and scope of theinvention covered herein can only be determined with reference to theclaims appended hereto, certain aspects of the invention that arecharacteristic of the embodiments disclosed herein are described brieflyas follows.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is a biological tissuedigester, comprising a sealable primary chamber constructed and arrangedto receive a body for partial digestion, and a sealable secondarychamber constructed and arranged to receive digestion products from theprimary chamber. Following receipt of digestion products from suchprimary chamber, the secondary chamber operates substantiallyindependently of the primary chamber. In one refinement, the digestersystem includes a bone shadow reclamation basket with sides and a bottomdesigned to hold a human body for reception in the primary chamber. Inan additional refinement, the basket is received in the primary chamberon rails attached on the inside of the primary chamber. In an additionalrefinement, agitation of treatment chemicals is done by sealed pump anddistribution system. In another refinement, the system includes a skullclamp designed to apply an effective force to the skull of a body to bedigested.

In another aspect, an apparatus for chemical treatment of biologicaltissue comprises a sealable primary chamber, a basket designed to holdthe tissue, and a mounting system attached inside the chamber, toreceive the basket, and a secondary chamber to receive material from theprimary chamber. In a further refinement, the apparatus includes adevice to determine the mass of tissue placed in the primary chamber.

In a further aspect, a method for chemical digestion of cadaver portionsis provided, comprising placing a body into a first chamber, restrainingthe head of the body, applying a force to the outside of the head of thebody, directing the force towards the inside of the skull, covering thebody with an effective amount of a highly alkaline solution, heating toa predetermined temperature and agitating the highly alkaline solution,continuing to maintain a predetermined temperature, and agitating thesolution for an effective amount of time until a desired amount of theorganic material of the body has been liquefied, removing from the firstchamber, the resultant liquid of the interaction of the highly alkalinesolution with the body, rinsing the undigested skeletal remains of thebody in the first chamber with a fresh liquid, drying the skeletalremains of the body, and removing the skeletal remains of the body andreducing them to a powder-like consistency. Meanwhile, the resultantliquid which was removed from the first chamber is moved to a secondchamber where heating and agitation of it is continued for sufficienttime to complete digestion. Following that, a pH adjustment of theliquid may be made suitable for disposal of the liquid in a sanitarysewer or otherwise.

These and other aspects are discussed below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a general schematic representation of the hydrolysis system,showing primary and secondary vessels.

FIG. 2A is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the entry door andof the primary vessel of FIG. 1 with the door closed and an empty bodybasket in place inside.

FIG. 2B is an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3A is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the vessel backand opposite the door.

FIG. 3B is an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4A is a view of the front end of the primary vessel of FIG. 1 (withthe front door and hinges eliminated for simplicity, but showing the endof the basket received on the support rails, and showing the primaryvessel mounted on a support stand) to facilitate entry and removal ofthe basket by a system operator.

FIG. 4B is an enlarged fragment of FIG. 4A and showing details of abasket support rail with basket thereon.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the body basket.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of the primaryvessel with the basket containing the cadaver while the basket is beingmoved into place for treatment.

FIG. 7 is a view like FIG. 6 but with the basket in place engaging thehead of the cadaver for fracturing the skull.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart representing the method for treating a cadaveraccording to the illustrated embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of theinvention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated inthe drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. Itwill nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of theinvention is thereby intended.

Overview

The treatment described in the present disclosure is human body tissuehydrolysis with a strong alkaline solution to render the deceased bodyinto constituent parts, only leaving skeletal fragments, “bone shadows”,and a liquid portion that can be saved, if useful for other purposes,but more likely disposed of properly. The “bone shadows” are calciumphosphate forms of the bones. They are very porous and so they are verylight, brittle and easily crumbled. They can be returned to thedecedent's next of kin.

For the purposes of this application, a “highly alkaline solvent” or“highly basic solvent” may include, for example, 0.1 M to 2.5 M,optionally 0.5 M to 1.5 M, an aqueous solution of an alkali metalhydroxide, or an alkaline earth metal hydroxide. An aqueous solution ofsodium hydroxide (NaOH—also commonly known as caustic soda or sodiumhydrate) or potassium hydroxide (KOH—also commonly known as causticpotash or potassium hydrate) is preferred. Solutions containing calciumoxide (CaO—also commonly known as burnt lime, calx or caustic lime),ammonium hydroxide (NH₄OH—also commonly known as aqua ammonia) ormagnesium hydroxide are suitable for some applications. An example of asuitable highly basic solvent may consist of a 0.1 M to 2.5 M solutionof NaOH in water, or approximately 0.4%-10% sodium hydroxide (by weight)in water.

For treatment, the body is placed in a bone shadow reclamation basket.The entry door of a primary pre-treatment vessel is opened, the basketis placed inside, and the door is closed, sealing the vessel. A controlsystem receives input from load cells located under the vessel, todetermine the weight of the body tissue loaded in the basket. The bodyis treated with a sufficient amount of highly alkaline solvent such thatthe body may be rendered into its constituent parts, only leavingskeletal fragments and a liquid portion. A sufficient amount of solventis given by adding a minimum of 0.1 M solution of NaOH 50% or KOH 45% aswell as a minimum amount of water as to meet a 1 to 1 ratio of thetissue weight and the water weight. These ratios are given only asinstruction as to how to conduct the method and operate the systemstated herein and not to limit the nature or scope of the invention; oneusing the system and method described herein may find ratios moreeconomical and exact as the invention is practiced. The water andhydroxide are introduced to the closed vessel by injectors or otherwiseif desired by the operator.

If the reaction between the body and the highly basic solvent wereallowed to proceed at its natural rate at room temperature, it may takean impractical amount of time. Therefore, it is advantageous to increasethe reaction rate beyond its natural progression. One way to increasethe speed of the reaction process is to heat the solvent, preferably toa temperature in the range of 150° F. to 400° F. The time of treatmentat the elevated temperature can be in the range of 30 minutes to 4hours, preferably 40 minutes to 60 minutes. Conducting the reaction in asealed vessel allows an increased pressure to be used so that a highertemperature can be achieved to reduce the reaction time needed to digestthe body. One mode of treatment is to heat the solvent to at least 300°F. and hold it at that temperature for at least 60 minutes. During theheating, the liquid contents of the vessel should be agitated to bettermix the hydroxide and water with the tissue. Agitation may be byexternal pump, internal agitators, or otherwise. The amount of agitationcan be controlled to allow for varying degrees of bone structure toremain intact for removal after the process has been completed. Theamount of bone shadows that will remain can vary from as much as beingcompletely intact to being completely dissolved in the primary vesselprocessing for separation via centrifuge for fast processing. After thecontents of the primary vessel have been maintained at a minimumtemperature of 300° F. for a period of no less than 30 minutes, adiversion valve will open and direct the resultant flowable contents ofthe primary vessel to a secondary processing vessel.

Utilizing a separate vessel to complete the treatment of the transferredliquid enables further processing of the skeletal remains in the firstvessel separately from the liquid transferred from the first vessel tothe secondary vessel for processing the liquid in the second vessel.

The transferred material treatment is completed in the second vessel bycontinued heating and agitating the liquid in the second vessel for someadditional time to ensure that the flowable material has been completelydigested. The additional time may be up to four hours or more, butpreferably, 60 minutes to 2 hours. The temperature of the treatment ofthe material in the secondary vessel will be nearly the same as utilizedin the treatment of the body in the primary vessel. The pH of the liquidcan then be adjusted to a desirable level so that it may be cooled andproperly disposed as into a sanitary sewer, or otherwise. For example,by introducing CO₂ gas or liquid into the liquid, the pH of the liquidmay be lowered. However, other methods of pH adjustment may be used. Anexample is using mineral acids.

Except for transfer of the flowable, preferably liquid, digestionproduct, the primary and secondary vessel will operate independent ofeach other. Therefore, for a certain body, if completion of treatment tothe point of removal of the bone shadow from the primary vessel takeslonger than completion of the treatment of resultant liquid in thesecondary vessel, the treated liquid can be disposed of in a sanitarysewer. Then a liquid resultant from a different body treated in adifferent primary vessel can be transferred to this secondary vessel andtreated while treatment of the skeletal remains of the first body in thefirst primary vessel is being completed. This allows for the handling ofmore bodies during a specific time frame, which will make the treatmentprocess more economically feasible, but without risk of mixing theskeletal remains.

Apparatus Details

Now turning to FIG. 1, a primary processing vessel 12 is provided with afront door 13 to chamber 14 to receive the body 15 for treatment. Thebody is supported in a basket 50 which is porous throughout. In theevent the body is incomplete because of separation and loss of parts infire, accident or otherwise, the basket is used for all of the bodyparts that remain. The door 13 is opened, and the basket is moved intothe doorway and is received on rails 28 (FIG. 4A) fixed to the interiorside walls of the vessel 12 and which extend from the door opening backto the closed end wall 18 of the vessel 12.

A second processing vessel 40 is arranged to receive liquid from theprimary vessel 12 after a first part of the treatment has been completedin the primary vessel. The treatment resultant liquid can be transferredfrom the primary vessel to the secondary vessel through lines 21 bygravity 19, pumping 20, through pressure differential between theprimary and secondary vessels (pressure transfer), or any other methodsuitable. The vessels must be constructed from material capable ofwithstanding the pH levels, temperatures and pressures employed in thehydrolysis process or treatment.

Suitable materials for the vessels include certain formulations ofstainless steel or even carbon steel, but other materials resistant tothe processing conditions can be used. The primary vessel door 13 iscapable of being closed so that it is pressure and airtight, towithstand the temperatures and pressures of the hydrolysis treatment andprevent the escape or inadvertent exhausting of the contents from thevessel interior to atmosphere, as well as to prevent atmospheric carbondioxide from entering the vessel during treatment. Such closure of theprimary vessel 12 may be achieved by conventional door lockingmechanisms or door clamps 22 well known in the industry, and whereuponthe door is locked and sealed shut.

The hydrolysis system may be controlled by a conventional programmablelogic controller (PLC) system 11 (FIG. 1) for automated operation, and akeyboard for alternative manual input or operation. The use of acomputer controlled PLC (programmable logic controller) will facilitatethe ease of operation of the apparatus described in this disclosure,making it amenable for use in a mortuary setting. It can be programmedfor performing the treatments as desired by the system operator.

The system further may include a mass transducer such as, for example,load cells 81 (FIG. 4) coupled to the primary vessel 12 for determiningthe mass of the body received within the primary vessel and forgenerating an output signal to the PLC, indicating such mass data. Thetransducer is preset such that the mass of the primary vessel with abone reclamation basket but without a body present, equals zero. Thecontents mass data may then be entered into or read by the PLC controlsystem for determining the appropriate amounts of water and alkali tointroduce into the interior 14 of the primary vessel 12.

The primary vessel 12 (FIG. 1) also can have internal injectors such as23 to spray water reactants, or rinses, over a body in the primaryvessel 12. The reactants are strong alkali solution for hydrolysis ofthe body as well as hydrogen peroxide or some other bleaching ordeodorizing agent to treat the skeletal remains after the hydrolysis iscomplete. The rinse material in most cases is water, but this and otherinjectors can be used for other materials as well. In addition, theprimary vessel 12 may be equipped with temperature sensing 25, pressureindicator 26, liquid level, and other sensing and monitoring devices.Such sensing and monitoring devices are known in the art for use withchemical processing equipment.

The primary vessel 12 may be heated by external heating jacket, internalsteam coils 27, electrical heaters or some other heating device such asis known in the art. The fluid contents in the primary vessel 12 areagitated by a mechanically sealed pump 36 and plumbing system 38 todistribute the processing liquids in the vessel, but agitation can bedone through the use of an internal mechanical agitator or otherwise.

FIG. 4A is a view of the primary vessel 12 along its longitudinal axis,showing the vessel secure on a cradle which has four legs 80 (two of thefour being shown, the other two being hidden behind them) which supportthe vessel at a height facilitating the work. The view is into the opendoor end of the primary vessel 12 (door and hinges omitted to simplifythe drawing) with the basket 50 supported in place on rails 28. As shownin the enlargement FIG. 4B, each rail has a support plate 28A weldedalong the inside wall of the vessel. A bearing strip 28B is fastened tothe top of plate 28A along the length of the plate. As described below,there is an L-shaped flange 50A extending the full length of the basket,and to which a bearing strip 50B, Teflon, for example, is fastened alongthe length of the flange. The fastenings of members 28B and 50B can bedone by fasteners as shown, or by other means if found suitable for theharsh environment generated in the vessel 12 during treatment. Thebearing strips may be of materials suitable for low friction sliding ofthe basket on the rails 28 for moving the basket into the vessel 12 fortreatment of the body, and for removal of the basket from the vesselfollowing the treatment.

Referring to the FIG. 5 perspective view of the basket 50, it should besturdy enough to hold a human body and withstand manual loading of thebody into the basket, as well as manual handling of the loaded basketinto the primary vessel. It is desirable that it be usable with anautomatic or assisted loading system. For an example of material, butwithout limiting choices, the basket may be made of sixteen gaugestainless steel material, perforated or mesh to allow the free flow ofthe digestion fluid through the basket and around the body to bedigested. As an example for perforations, ⅜ inch diameter holes at ½inch staggered centers is suggested. The basket has a closed end 51which is the front end for leading into the primary vessel for thetreatment process. The sides 52 extend to a rear end wall 53 of the samekind of material and which is mounted to the bottom 54 by a piano-typehinge 55 so the rear end wall can be dropped-down to allow dry skeletalremains to be removed from the basket without removing the basket 50from the primary vessel 12, if desired. A window or door sash chain 56,for example, can be fastened to the top of the basket side 52 and to thetop of the rear end wall 53 to limit the distance of the drop of the topof the end wall to horizontal when released for removal of the remainsfrom the basket. If desired, this feature can be used with the basketempty before processing, for sliding the body lengthwise into thebasket.

Provisions are made in the primary vessel and on the basket to inhibitmovement of partially decomposed materials, solid or semi-solid, fromfloating over the sides of the basket and toward the bottom of thevessel during processing. For this purpose, there are features on thevessel walls overlapping features of the basket when the basket is inposition in the vessel for processing the body. For example, referringto FIGS. 2A and 2B there is a plate 32 fixed to the inside face 24 ofthe door 13 and which extends across the width of the door. On thebasket there is a flange 57 extending outward and upward at the top ofthe basket wall 53 and which extends across the width of the basket.Similarly, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, there is a plate 30 fixed to theinside face 18 of the closed end 16 of the primary vessel and extendingacross the width of the vessel. There is an upwardly and outwardlyextending flange 58 at top of the basket closed end wall 51. At the doorend of the vessel, the flange 57 of the basket overlaps the plate 32 ofthe vessel (FIGS. 2A and 2B). At the closed end of the vessel, theflange 58 on the closed end of the basket overlaps the plate 30 fixed tothe vessel. Both of these relationships of basket flange to vessel plateestablished when the basket is fully inserted into the primary vessel12, provides a sort of barrier to inhibit solid materials from leavingthe ends of basket 50 and falling to the bottom of the primary vessel 12during the hydrolysis procedure. While the gaps 66 (FIG. 2B) and 68(FIG. 3B) at the overlaps, inhibit travel of solids toward the bottom,they allow any fluid in their vicinity to drain back to the primaryvessel bottom. Also, the relationship of the upward and outward sideflanges 50A of the basket overlapping the rails 28 (FIGS. 4A and 4B)prevents solids from overflowing sides of the basket to the bottom ofthe primary vessel 12.

These relationships may be considered in a way to effectively divide theprimary vessel internal volume 14 into an upper portion and a lowerportion. This interface is produced through basket side rails 50A beingsupported on the primary vessel side rails 28, and the overlap of theclosed end vessel divider extension plate 30 and the basket closed enddivider extension flange 58, and the overlap between the vessel doordivider plate 32 and the basket hinged end divider extension flange 57.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, FIG. 6 is a side view with the basket 50in the primary vessel 12 just touching a lever arm 72 of a headrestrainer clamp 70. The lever arm 72 is pivotally mounted to the insideof the primary vessel 12 at the closed end 18. Arm 72 is connected to aspring 74 which biases the lever arm 72 so that the head restrainerclamp 70 attached to the arm 72 is in a first position (FIG. 6) awayfrom the basket so that the basket 50 may be slid fully into primaryvessel 12. The basket 50 will contact the lever arm 72 while slidinginto the primary vessel at a first position near the closed rear end ofthe vessel. Upon further sliding of the basket 50 into the primaryvessel 12, the basket end will push the lever arm 72 to rotate it aboutpivot point 76 causing the head clamp 70 to move downwards towards asecond position and make contact with the head of the body held in thebasket 50. When the basket 50 is completely slid into the primary vessel12, the lever arm 72 and head clamp 70 will have moved to the secondposition (FIG. 7), where the head clamp 70 contacts and bears down onthe head of the body in the basket 50 with a force so that, when theskull is softened during the hydrolysis process, the force is effectiveto deform and breach the skull to allow hydrolysis treatment fluid toenter the skull cavity. The plate 30 and basket flange 58 may be slottedto accommodate the movement of lever arm 72.

Alternate devices can be envisioned that will restrain the head of abody in the basket and apply pressure to the skull to cause deformationwhen the skull has been weakened by hydrolysis. Examples are a bandabout the skull and tensioned by one or more springs, or one or morepieces of elastomeric material. The springs or elastomeric material willprovide the force necessary to breach the skull during treatment. Theband can either attach around the head or may be connected to thebasket. Suitable materials for the band and springs include certainformulations of stainless steel, carbon steel or polymers likepolytetrafluoroethylene, but other materials that will not be degradedby the hydrolysis conditions can be used. Elastomeric material needs tobe resistant to the processing conditions. EPDM rubber (ethylenepropylene diene monomer rubber) is an example.

The secondary vessel 40 (FIG. 1) is shown elongate in a horizontalattitude but a vertical configuration or other shape could be used ifdesired. The secondary vessel 40 is arranged to receive the digestionresultant material from the primary vessel 12 after sufficient time haspassed for the fleshy part of a body to be treated and converted tomostly liquid in the primary vessel. The secondary vessel 40 isconstructed of either stainless or carbon steel, but other material thatcan resist the processing conditions can be used. The secondary vessel40 is normally closed so that it is pressure and airtight, to withstandthe temperatures and pressures of the hydrolysis treatment process andprevent the escape or inadvertent exhausting of the contents of thevessel to atmosphere, as well as to prevent atmospheric carbon dioxidefrom entering the vessel during treatment. Such closure of the secondaryvessel 40 may be achieved by conventional sealing and clamping wellknown in the industry (not shown). It will also be equipped with a ventvalve 41 that will vent excess pressure during the process, and a vacuumbreak 43 to alleviate vacuum conditions when material is exiting thesecondary vessel 40. In addition, the secondary vessel can be equippedwith temperature sensing 44, pressure indicator 45, liquid level, weightsensing and other devices (not shown) to facilitate operation andmonitoring and safe operation of the process. The treatment resultantliquid in secondary vessel 40 may be agitated via a mechanically sealedpump 46 and plumbing system 48 to distribute this effluent transferredfrom the primary vessel. This secondary vessel 40 is heated or cooledvia internal coils 42 but other temperature control devices may be usedsuch as an external jacket or an external heat exchanger. Devices andequipment not shown are well known in the art. Except for reception ofdigestion resultant liquid transferred from the primary vessel forfurther digestion, the secondary vessel 40 operates totallyindependently of the primary vessel 12, and can also be controlled bythe same PLC 10 connected to the primary vessel 12, or by a separatePLC. The secondary vessel 40 can be operated at the same time as theprimary vessel 12 is finishing its work on the skeletal remains of thebody.

A block diagram overview of the process is presented in FIG. 8. Asindicated above, processing in the secondary vessel may overlap withprocessing in the primary vessel. In fact, completing the treatment ofliquid digestion products from a previous body may continue in thesecondary vessel while treatment of another body is started in theprimary vessel, as indicated by the steps in FIG. 8 under the secondaryvessel heading: “May be . . . body”. Each vessel will operateindependent of each other so that processing of different bodies at thesame time is possible without mingling of body constituents.

Now for one body, it is placed in the basket 50 manually or by anautomated transfer system. Once the body has been placed into thebasket, the door 13 of the primary vessel 12 will be opened and thebasket will be slided into the vessel and the door will be closed. Oncethe door to the vessel has been closed and secured by clamps 22, forexample, the control system will utilize the mass measuring device, suchas one or more load cells 81 (FIG. 4), located below the primary vesselat the four legs 80, to determine the mass of the body that was loadedinto the basket. Once the PLC control system has determined the correctmass of the body being processed, it will cause drum pump 29 to pumpfrom hydroxide tank 33 through valve 34 and vessel port 35, a minimum of0.1 M solution of NaOH 50% or KOH 45% into a minimum amount of waterdelivered into vessel 12 through injector 23, to meet a 1 to 1 ratiowith the body mass and the water mass.

After the caustic and water has been added to the primary vessel thecontrol system will then begin to heat the contents of the vessel usinginternal steam coils 27 or external heating elements such as a jacket onthe vessel. A minimum temperature of 250° F. is preferred for the periodneeded, which might be 40 minutes, for example. During this time theliquid contents of the vessel will be agitated by an external pump 38with internal distribution manifold 36. For the purpose of mixing thehydroxide and water about the body, internal mechanical agitators (notshown) might also be used. The amount of agitation can be controlled toallow for original bone structure to enable some to remain intact as“bone shadows” for removal after the process has been completed. Theamount of bone shadows that will remain can vary from as much as beingcompletely intact to being completely dissolved in the solution forseparation via centrifuge for fast processing. After the contents of thevessel have been maintained at a minimum temperature of 250° F. for thenecessary period, a transfer valve 37 will be opened and direct theliquid contents from the primary vessel to the secondary vessel.

Within the secondary vessel, the control system will continue to heat(steam in coil 39) and agitate the contents for a minimum of 1 hour tocomplete the digestion cycle. Once this is complete in the secondaryvessel, the contents are cooled as by water in coil 39. At this point inthe process, pH correction can be implemented using liquid or gas CO₂injection from a tank 49 through plumbing into port 49P into vessel 40.As the CO₂ is added into the secondary vessel, the control systemmonitors the pH, temperature and pressure to determine when to stopinjecting CO₂, based on the preset pH condition selected by the user fordisposal. The contents of the secondary vessel are now ready fordisposal to a sanitary sewer or elsewhere, if appropriate.

After the liquid contents of the primary vessel have been transferred tothe secondary vessel, only an intact skeletal structure will remain inthe primary vessel. While the above-described digestion processing ofthe transferred liquid is occurring in the secondary vessel, treatmentof skeletal remains will continue in the primary vessel. The controlsystem will perform a final heated rinse of the remains by utilizing thewater spray system (injector 23) to clean the bones of any possibleresidual material. Once the final rinse has occurred, the rinse waterwill be cooled and drained to a sanitary sewer connection for disposal.Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) injection may then be carried out for thepurpose of odor control or bone whitening. This can be accomplished bypumping from drum 59 through a valve and some plumbing as used for theCO₂, but up to port 55 in primary vessel 12 that delivers the H₂O₂directly into the primary vessel. The control system monitors the flowof the H₂O₂ via flow sensors to allocate the correct amount of H₂O₂ tothe primary vessel. After the H₂O₂ has been introduced into the primaryvessel for a period of 20 minutes, for example, or longer for bonewhitening, the H₂O₂ solution may be drained to the sanitary sewer. Ifthe H₂O₂ is injected only for odor neutralization, the contents may bedrained immediately after the full amount of peroxide has been injected.

At this point the primary vessel vent valves will open and air will bedrawn through the primary vessel for a period of 15 minutes to allow forthe skeletal remains to evaporate some of the excess water that istrapped within the bones. A vacuum drying system may be incorporatedinto the vent section of the primary vessel, to be applied during thedrying cycle of the process. The vacuum pump would act in aiding thedrying process by lowering the pressure within the vessel as well aslowering vapor point of the liquid in the primary vessel. Once the boneshave reached an acceptable level of moisture content, the door to theprimary vessel may be opened and the reclamation basket may be removed.Once the bone shadows have been collected from the reclamation basket,they may be managed as instructed by the decedent's next of kin. If sodesired, the bone shadows may be placed into a macerator/grinder topulverize them for placement into an urn for return to the decedent'snext of kin.

If the bones are not whitened by using H₂O₂, they may be sent through anultraviolet (UV) processing auger for further whitening via UV light.H₂O₂ injection can also be accomplished within either process vessel forthe purpose of odor control. The control system can monitor the flow ofthe H₂O₂ via flow sensors to allocate the correct amount of H₂O₂ to theselected process vessel.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the sameis to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character.Modifications that come within the spirit of the invention describedherein are desired to be protected.

1. A method for chemical digestion of remains of a deceased person, andcomprising: (a) placing remains into a first container; (b) applying tothe remains an effective amount of a highly-alkaline solution; (c)heating to an effective temperature and agitating the highly-alkalinesolution; (d) continuing to maintain the effective temperature andagitation for an effective amount of time; (e) draining from the firstcontainer, a liquid product resultant of the interaction of thehighly-alkaline solution with the remains to leave skeletal remains ofthe body in the first container; (f) rinsing the skeletal remains of thebody with a liquid; (g) drying the skeletal remains of the body; and (h)removing the skeletal remains of the body for preservation.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 and further comprising reducing the skeletal remainsto a powder-like consistency.
 3. The method of claim 1 and furthercomprising: restraining the head portion of the remains; and applying aforce to the outside of the head portion and directing the force towardthe inside of the head portion.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein thehighly-alkaline solution comprises a mixture of water and an alkalimetal hydroxide or alkaline earth-metal hydroxide.
 5. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the effective amount of highly-alkaline solution isbased on the mass of the body remains.
 6. The method of claim 1 whereinthe effective temperature of the solution is 150° F. to 400° F.
 7. Themethod of claim 4 wherein the effective temperature of the solution isat least 200° F.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the effective amountof time is from 30 minutes to 4 hours.
 9. The method of claim 6 whereinthe effective amount of time is from 40 minutes to 2 hours.
 10. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the effective amount of time is at least 40minutes.
 11. The method of claim 1 including, after the rinsing (f) andbefore the drying (g), treating the skeletal remains with a whiteningagent.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein the resultant liquid product isdrained to a receiving container.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein theresultant liquid product in the receiving container is heated andagitated for a sufficient time to complete digestion of said product.14. The method of claim 13 wherein, after the digestion of the resultantliquid product is complete, the pH of the resultant liquid product isadjusted to a preset specification.
 15. The method of claim 13 whereinthe sufficient time to complete digestion is at least 60 minutes.
 16. Amethod for chemical digestion of remains of a deceased person andcomprising: (a) placing a body into a first container; (b) closing thecontainer applying to the entire body an effective concentration of ahighly-alkaline solution; (c) heating and agitating the highly-alkalinesolution for an effective amount of time until the organic material ofthe body has been liquefied; (d) draining the resultant liquid productof the interaction of the highly alkaline solution with the body, to asecond container; (e) rinsing the skeletal remains of the body with aliquid in the first container; (f) drying the skeletal remains of thebody in the first container; (g) removing the skeletal remains of thebody and reducing the skeletal remains to an ash-like consistency; (h)after the draining (d), heating and agitating for an effective time theresultant liquid product in the second container, to complete digestionof it; (i) adjusting the pH of the resultant liquid product in thesecond container to a preset specification.
 17. The method of claim 16and further comprising: after the placing of the body, restraining thehead of the body and applying an effective force to the outside of thehead and directing the force toward the inside of the head to facilitateaccess of the alkaline solution to the inside of the head.